


Fast Car

by GalaxyBabe



Series: Musical Stories [2]
Category: Game Grumps
Genre: F/M, Female Reader, Pregnancy, idk what else to tag, this is set in the late 90s
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-06-24 06:57:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,240
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15625209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyBabe/pseuds/GalaxyBabe
Summary: You got a fast carIs it fast enough so we can fly away?We gotta make a decisionLeave tonight or live and die this wayBased on "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](https://swampwitchactivist.tumblr.com/)

You start awake to the sound of your father stumbling into your bedroom door, as you usually do on your days off.

Your boss had held you over for an extra hour and a half the night before, and you had been fuming silently while you helped the few stray customers that actually came in after midnight. Even now you were still upset about it, but you knew that your paycheck would have a little extra for it, so you couldn’t really be too upset. 

That said, you were still tired, and forcefully tossed yourself over to face the wall and try to go back to sleep.

You couldn’t be mad at your father either; he couldn’t help how bad he’s gotten. Your mother left him when you were young, leaving you with him. He turned to drinking to try to cope with it, and soon enough, he couldn’t support himself, let alone try to ensure that you got what you needed. So, you left school, dropping out in 10th grade. You were never very good at school anyway; you had been a bit behind everyone else, maybe a little too far back from average. You weren’t old enough to get an official job when you left, only being fifteen, but some neighbors took pity on you and gave you jobs watching their kids and pets while they were working or running errands until you got a job. When you turned sixteen, you looked for places that were hiring during your free time, asking anyone who would listen. 

That was how you’d gotten your job at the convenience store, though you had wanted to avoid the place. The manager you normally ran into gave you a bad feeling, but you didn’t have a choice. With a little prodding, you got him to talk to the owner and try to get you a job. It worked, and the owner even scheduled you when that specific manager wasn’t working, instead working when he acted as manager. This meant you worked nights though, every day from 3 PM to midnight, clerking and stocking and anything else you were needed to do. It also meant you had to pretend you didn’t feel the owner’s eyes on you at any given moment, staring at your behind when your back was turned, and just generally being gross. He kept his hands off of you though, which you suppose you were grateful for.

These shifts were where you met him.

Arin Hanson was a handsome young man. His chocolate brown hair fell just under his chin, where it met a short, soft-looking beard. There was a streak of blonde hidden in his hair on the right side. His eyes matched his hair, soft brown that never really seemed to match how he presented himself. He liked wearing black, usually a dark t-shirt with a leather jacket and old, ratty jeans. Arin was tall and muscular, often creating a somewhat foreboding aura around himself.

He had been a senior when you dropped out, and he lived near the store, though you weren’t sure exactly where. He also had a bit of a reputation for being a “bad boy,” so he would come into the store and buy snacks and cigarettes late at night. He flirted with you a lot, though you really didn’t mind; he was a lot more attractive than most of the guys that flirted with you while you were at work, and a lot closer to your age. That said, there were still many times you ducked in back and had your manager or whoever was working above you that night handle it, since you didn’t want to be flirted with. Eventually, he figured out your schedule, and waited for you outside the store.

“That’s creepy, y’know,” was the first thing you said to him outside work. 

“Yeah, well, I’m willing to do some creepy stuff for cuties like you,” he answered, flicking the cigarette from between his fingers onto the ground and stomping it out. You wanted to be creeped out. You really did. But this was actually one of the nicer experiences you had had with the men that seemed to like you, and you wanted something nice to happen in your life. 

“Isn’t that sweet. What do you need?”

“You wanna go for a drive?” He pointed towards what you assumed to be his car, a beautiful cherry red Mustang. It was an old model, you weren’t sure what year, but it was really well cared for, and you felt a little starstruck by it. You must’ve looked it, because he laughs, the sound low in his chest. “C’mon, it’s more fun when you’re in it.”

You follow him to the car, still a bit dazed. Sitting in the passenger seat, you note the soft leather and the slight smell of cigarettes. He turned the key in the ignition and the car started to life with a rumble that you felt in your whole body. You turned to look at him, and he was looking at you, grinning widely. He backed out of the parking space, turning the car around to drive out towards the city and up along the roads that circled it. 

Arin shifted the car with a fluidity you had never seen. Even your father, on the rare occasions he was sober enough to drive, didn’t shift so seamlessly. You were a bit mesmerized by it, watching his hand move but not feeling the car jolt to catch the gear. Before long, he was shifting down, coming up to rest at a hill overlooking the city. Lights glared out from the buildings, creating a beautiful and serene picture that rivaled the pounding in your chest and the rumble of the engine. You looked up at Arin and he was smiling at you, a toothy grin that lit up his entire face. “So? What’d you think?”

You struggled to find something sassy to say back, but you managed to say, “I think I want to go into the city at some point.” That wasn’t really an answer, but you had never been, and it looked even more beautiful than you thought it would have, even from this distance.

“We’ll have to arrange that, then.”

The two of you talked and laughed until you caught the first glance of the sunrise, and Arin started the car back up again. He drove you back home with the same dizzying speed he had left the store with, and you were home before you knew it, or even wanted to be. 

“Can I see you like this again?” he asked, his confident demeanor giving way to something that looked a little like nervousness.

You smiled, warmth blossoming in your chest and face. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“I’ll be back tonight, you know me.”

“Of course.” And with that, you were out of the car and he was off, heading home himself. You watched his car go, your heart still fluttering lightly.

After a minute, you walked inside, a sigh escaping your lips as you pushed your shoes off without untying them.

“Where’ve you been?” your father’s voice boomed, his words a bit slurred. 

Oh no.

“Work,” you lied, hoping he was drunk enough to buy it. “Mark had me work an extra shift.”

Your father appeared in the doorway of the entryway, leaning against the wall with a beer bottle in his hand. “And you didn’ think ta call me.”

“I didn’t want to wake you,” you answered, blinking quickly. “I figured you were asleep.”

“I wasn’ ‘sleep,” he said, leaning closer to you, the smell of alcohol on his breath strong and nauseating. “I was waitin’ for you.”

“Sorry, it won’t happen again.”

“Damn righ’ it won’.” He backed off, stumbling back to his recliner in front of the TV. Once you heard him plop down into the chair, you headed to your room, and though your stomach growled, you didn’t bother checking the kitchen. You hadn’t gone grocery shopping and you knew it was almost empty. Instead of eating, you drifted off to sleep, Arin’s cheesy grin and smooth voice still on your mind.

He made good on his promise, and returned to the store around midnight. The two of you repeated the actions of the night before, though you called your house from the pay phone in the parking lot, to no answer. You knew that the phone would show that you called, since you had let yourself spend a little extra than normal and bought a phone with Caller ID, and your father knew how to read it. After you hung up the phone, you and Arin repeated the events of the night before, looking over the city and talking about anything and everything. 

The house was silent when you entered, and you were thankful for it. You knew you needed to go grocery shopping, but you wanted to sleep first.

You and Arin fell into a routine of being together after work, sitting on the same overlook, eating snacks that you bought with your discount. Arin spent a lot of time looking at the city in silence, and that was okay. You just enjoyed his company, and after a few times, you began to get excited when you saw Arin pull into the parking lot.

About a month into this endeavor, while you were sitting with him on the hood of the car staring at the sky, Arin asked if you really wanted to go into the city. You looked at him confused, but answered with a “Yeah, of course.”

“Do you think you’d want to live there?”

“I guess, yeah. Anything different would be nice.”

Arin sighed, a gentle smile spreading across his face. “I hoped you’d say that.”

The two of you didn’t talk much for the rest of the night, but you enjoyed Arin’s company nonetheless. There was nothing much to say; Arin knew how your father was, and you had had enough conversations about parents to know that, while they obviously cared for Arin, he wasn’t the type to listen to authority. 

You began to save money. You spent more time in the grocery store, comparing prices and looking for the cheapest options of what you could get. You avoided spending a lot, opting instead to shove money under your mattress and in a pair of socks in your dresser. Arin said he was saving up too, getting money from his parents and holding onto it.

You realize that, among all of this introspection, you’re not going to be able to fall asleep again. Instead, you get up, put your work uniform in a bag and get dressed, then head to the grocery store to kill time. You decide to splurge and buy a cookie from the bakery to celebrate your eighteenth birthday.

Your shift went as normal, and Arin picks you up and drives to the overlook. There’s something different in the air, though, but you ignore in favor of the dizzying speed and the blur of the city lights.

After a while, Arin asks if you think you’re ready to leave. “You’re eighteen now, we can go,” he reasoned, leaning up on his elbow and looking at you. You simply nod, and the two of you are off, Arin dropping you off at home so you can pack.

He returns thirty minutes later, his bags in the trunk of his car. You write your father a note, explaining what you were doing, and leave it on your pillow. With the note placed, you leave, throwing your bags in the back seat and the two of you are off, speeding to the convenience store so you can officially quit, then into the city. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr](https://swampwitchactivist.tumblr.com/)

Moving to the city had been harder than you expected.

You couldn’t find an apartment that you could afford, so you and Arin were stuck in the homeless shelter for the time being. You had quickly found work in the nearby grocery store, clerking and bagging groceries. It kept the both of you alive while Arin looked for a job.

It was difficult sometimes, sleeping on the hard mattress in the shelter, but you still had the memories of driving with Arin up to that overlook, speed so fast you felt drunk, the city lights spread out before the two of you, and how nice his arm felt wrapped around your shoulders as you talked. That kept you happy, at least above water when Arin kept bringing back the news that he couldn’t find work.

Late at night, when you were alone with him, he would tell you about what he had planned for the two of you; a big house, comfortable and far away from the shelter. A couple of kids, maybe. A white picket fence and a dog. The very thought of it made your chest and face heat up, before Arin would crack jokes about getting started on those kids.

To pass time while you were off work, when you weren’t sleeping, Arin would take you driving, watching the people walking along the sidewalks and in other cars, laughing about anything and everything. It felt like you were at the overlook again, enjoying each other’s company and the views from wherever you were.

Arin would come in to the store while you were working to visit every once in a while, and you saved your breaks for then, even though you didn’t know when he was going to visit. Your boss got a little annoyed, but he never said anything to you, so you figured he took pity on you.

You finally managed to save up enough to pay for an apartment about four months after you had moved to the city. The two of you finally moved into an actual living space, though it wasn’t the best, and you set down roots, for a little while.

A week later, you found out you were pregnant. Arin fussed over you while you were home, insisting that you take it easy, that boss of yours was probably working you too hard, you should rest, you’re pregnant. You insisted that you were fine, and that you just wanted Arin to find work to make it easier to support the baby.

He listened, finally finding a job working in a factory a little outside of town. You almost cried when he came back with the news that he had gotten the job, and the two of you celebrated by buying a small cake to share.

He worked at the same times you did, so the two of you usually spent nights together, dreaming about the life you were saving up for, that white picket fence that Arin promised you. Sometimes Arin would call home and tell you that he was going to go out with friends for drinks, and that he would be home soon. You were glad he wasn’t fussing over you quite so much, but as months passed, as you got closer to your due date, he started doing this more frequently. He began to spend his paychecks on drinks, and you were paying the bills with the income you got from bagging groceries.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [my tumblr](https://swampwitchactivist.tumblr.com/)

It became too much.

Your daughter, Anna, seemed to barely know her father. He spent a lot of time working, and when he wasn’t working he was drinking with his friends, leaving you to take care of Anna and the apartment, alongside working. You had gotten promoted, which provided a little boost in income, but Anna was three now, and you were still in the same place Arin had sworn you would leave before she was born.

She seemed confused when he came home after work, not really looking like she knew who Arin was. Anna couldn’t see the traits she had inherited from her father, but you could; she had his nose, his eyes, and his hair.

She didn’t know him, and that was too much.

You had to confront Arin about it. He spent more time with people you didn’t know than he did with his own daughter.

“Arin, can we talk?” you asked on one of thee rare nights he was home after work, once Anna had been put to bed.

“Yeah, sweetheart, what’s the matter?” He turned to look at you, confused, like he didn’t know why you would be upset.

“Why do you spend so much time away from us?”

Arin blinked, and his mouth opened and closed.

“Anna doesn’t even know you, she’s confused about you when you’re here. What makes you stay away from us so much?”

“I-I… I just need a break from work a lot, and Anna can be a bit of a handful,” he said, looking away from your face.

“You don’t even know that. She’s really not, she’s actually very patient and good. It doesn’t make sense, Arin. You’re never home.”

“I’m here now,” he tried, his eyes flicking back to you.

“That doesn’t guarantee you’ll be here tomorrow. I don’t know Arin. It’s not fair to Anna, and it isn’t fair to me.”

Arin sighed. “I know. I’ll try to change, I will.”

He made good on that promise, for the first few weeks at least. Slowly, Anna learned that Arin was her dad, and she started calling him ‘Papa.’ You could see his heart melt each time she did so, and you thought he was going to spend more time home now.

You thought wrong.

Arin just couldn’t stay away from wherever he went with his friends after work, and he fell back into his routine before the month was through. Anna missed him, crying for him while he was off somewhere you didn’t know. You consoled her by walking her around the block, letting her look at the buildings and people until she fell asleep in your arms.

You couldn’t take it anymore, and after you put Anna to bed, Arin came in, breathless and apologetic.

“I’m sorry, they had me working over an hour. Where’s Anna?”

“She’s in bed,” you answered flatly. “She missed you today. And yesterday. And the day before.”

He blinked. “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying you haven’t changed at all. You said you would spend more time with her. You stayed around long enough for her to learn that you’re her dad, and then went right back to what you were doing. What the hell, Arin?”

Arin’s face flushed more than it already was. “I spend time with her, alright? It gets stressful working all day and coming home to her screaming and yelling all the time.”

“You think I don’t know that? I’m the one who gets her to calm down!” Your hands ball up into fists, nails digging into your palms.

Arin’s brow furrowed, his face indignant. “I’m helping you to pay bills.”

You shake your head, tears pricking at your eyes. “You’re paying for your drinks.”

“You don’t appreciate my efforts.”

“What efforts? All you do is work and drink, when do you make an effort for Anna or me?”

Arin paused, his mouth moving, but no words leaving it.

“I'd always hoped for better. I thought maybe together we’d find it. I don’t have any plans, I’m not going anywhere. If you want to leave, then leave. If you don’t want to be here, then don’t. Anna will forget you in time.”

He didn’t answer. He just turned around and left.


End file.
